The Vale Earth Fair

This year’s festival will be held on Sunday 25 August 2024. Expect to hear a huge variety of music, spoken word and entertainment throughout the castle which will be filled with local and visiting talent.

The Vale Earth Fair is the Channel Islands’ longest running music and arts festival and has established itself as a regular fixture on the UK festival circuit,  attracting some big-name festival acts such as Bob Vylan, Skindred, Roots Manuva, Buzzcocks, Alabama 3, Asian Dub Foundation, and Neville Staple in previous years.

This year’s festival will once again take place across three stages of live music, two DJ stages and the Sneakaway spoken word stage.

We are very excited to announce that The Four Owls will be this year’s headliner for Vale Earth Fair. The Four Owls are essentially ambassadors of UK hip hop around the world and are known for their modern-day classics, encapsulating straight up-and-down banging rhythms, undiluted lyricism and conceptual brilliance. This band of owls hover in cypher circles gripping microphones with their iron talons, leaving humans in the wake of their earthly knowledge – according to the avian-adorned band.

Their second album ‘Natural Order’ took things to a new dimension after collaborating with world famous producer DJ Premier on their hit single ‘Think Twice’. The album quickly became the top selling UK Hip Hop record in the country and lead The Four Owls on a string of sold-out shows pulverising every P.A. system the world over and back again.

On their third studio album, ‘Nocturnal Instinct’, the Four Owls are accompanied by world-renowned stars of the Hip-Hop scene including the likes of DJ Premier, Masta Killa (Wu-Tang), Kool G Rap, and R.A. The Rugged Man, amongst others. With the album achieving worldwide success and critical acclaim, they are not to be missed on the main stage this year!

Before you are visited by The Four Owls, experience the funky reggae beats of Shniece & Run Come Down. Accomplished singer-songwriter, Shniece, is no stranger within the world of top reggae artists. Her powerful vocals bring the soul to so many Prince Fatty productions, encapsulating the sounds of 70s funk with solid roots music. This is perfectly demonstrated on her single ‘Black Rabbit – a wonderful reggae version of the Jefferson Airplane track ‘White Rabbit’.

Joining her own stage are Bristol’s very own ‘Run Come Down’. They have been making their mark on the UK reggae scene since 2019 as an established 4-piece backing band.

Run Come Down provide an authentic and solid foundation for any vocalist to stand firm upon, as showcased with Kiko Bun at last year’s festival – a highlight for many attending 2023’s Vale Earth Fair. Their collaboration comes together seamlessly and will be an exciting performance to see.

Finishing off the night on the main stage, are Future Dub Orchestra. FDO is a collective of musicians working under the guidance of J.T. Clarke. Their stage setup varies from a four-piece band, right up to a full orchestra with all the variables in between. Over the years, a large number of talented musicians have come to work with the Future Dub Orchestra adding their talent to the collective. The result is an evolutionary, but truly shared process that continues through all the stages of composition – lyrics, instrumentation, backing vocals, right up to and including live performance. They are committed to pushing the musical boundaries to take their music into new directions, and cites influences as diverse as Electronica, Dub, D&B Reggae, and Film Music. From the outset the ethos has been that the music should form the centre around which a creative collective could grow.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the Vale Earth Fair without some incredible local & Channel Island acts. This year we are pleased to announce that Jersey acts Dribbler, Astral Wall and Handsome Peter will be tearing up their respective stages. From within these 10 parishes, Yas, Tantale, Its Own Animal and SpaceSoul will be entertaining your ears, with many more great acts to be announced over the coming months.